As good as Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic book zombie series has been, it was Frank Darabont who brought the show about living with the undead to life.

The mastermind behind The Mist and The Green Mile, The Walking Dead showrunner – who also directed the pilot episode of Dead – adapted the comics into a compelling drama that drew 5.3 million viewers for the premiere on AMC and grew into six million for the finale.

The Walking Dead brought zombies into a high quality class of entertainment, and when asked about why that is, producer and makeup effects master Greg Nicotero (of KNB EFX Group) said simply, “That’s because of Frank.”

But when ParanormalPopCulture.com spoke with Darabont and Nicotero about Season Two of The Walking Dead on July 23 at San Diego Comic-Con International, he didn’t seem to be aware of his fate. In fact, we found two guys enthusiastic about their new season who wanted to offer juicy tidbits and fun anecdotes about the show – including some info on zombie Easter Eggs that call out Jaws (Nicotero’s favorite movie), Evil Dead, Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks (from Mad Men) and others.

Check out the videos below, along with the Season Two trailer for Dead. And try not to get too depressed that Darabont (appearing in the right side of the frame, sometimes obscured by an Arrowhead water bottle) has exited from this great show.